Sue Thomas FBeye Season 4-1: Episode 4: California Dreams
by stfbeyefan
Summary: Bobby mysteriously disappears and Jack takes it hard. Sue goes off to meet a old friend. Amy starts her internship, and gets thrown into a related case later that week. Mysterious letters threaten an old friend, and other friends come to help out. It's love at first sight. And a car chase results in an accident. Is that enough drama for one week? No, a lot more is coming your way!
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Sue Thomas FBeye or any of its characters, so if you recognize a person from this program or any other (I might put in a cameo here and there), know that I do not own them at all. All scenarios and people that you do not recognize, I own that, though they might be inspired from something else, but in no way is it copying them. If I am missing something in this copyright notice, please let me know!**

**KEY: Italics are a memory, and all caps is ASL. Sorry, some of my ASL grammar is bad. I only know a little ASL, so if anyone knows how to properly say any sentences I write in ASL, please let me know, and I will change it to be how it should be! **

**NOTE: I am amazed at how complicated my stories are becoming. Those are my favorite kinds of episodes, where there are 2 or 3 sub stories in one. The only problem is, is that when I am writing them, I'm forgetting what I need to finish, and when! So if you ever find something that I might've seemed to forget to finish, please, please let me know! I will be sure to add it in!**

**TRIVIA: Where is Bobby? First correct answer gets a new chapter for everyone, PLUS the official title! (the location is in the name)**

?-?

Jack came into the bullpen, late. His car wouldn't start, so he had to take the bus. Darn old car.

Everyone was there, except for Bobby.

"Where's Bobby?" he asked. Everyone shook their heads. Jack frowned. It wasn't like him to come in late without letting anyone know.

Jack looked at Sue. They hadn't talked during the weekend, so he wasn't sure where he stood. She awkwardly looked at him. In that split second, he knew she was back in her 'he's a coworker' way of thinking. How could he get her out of that?

Just then, Amy came bouncing in the bullpen, excited to start her internship. She waved hi to Jack, who in turn waved back.

"HI" she signed to Sue, who had looked up at the movement of Amy coming into the room.

"HI. COME HELP ME WITH THIS." She said, Amy pulling up a chair. Sue was watching some surveillance videos, trying to determine what was being said, but also saw something suspicious being done while they were talking. She couldn't figure out what, though. Hopefully Amy could help.

Meanwhile, Jack tried to call Bobby. Straight to voicemail. He frowned as he looked at his phone. "What's going on?" he thought to himself.

"Don't worry about it. He probably just overslept." D said, seeing how worried Jack was.

"Yeah, probably," he said distractedly.

?-?

Bobby quickly run-walked to his terminal number. He was late. How could he have overslept? He couldn't sleep, but then he overslept. Funny how those things work.

He had rushed packing, so hopefully he had everything he needed. As he was walking, he was thinking. "Toothbrush, check. Extra clothes, check. Underwear, uh, who cares?" he said to himself.

Thankfully, he got to the terminal just as the last passenger was boarding. He quickly gave the stewardess his ticket, and went on the plane.

Here goes this wild ride.

?-?

After work, still worried about him, Jack went to Bobby's apartment. When he looked from the outside where he could see Bobby's apartment window, the lights were dark, but he went up and knocked anyway. No answer.

"He left with a big suitcase, he did. About a hour ago." An older woman said from behind Jack. He turned around. "Did he say where he was going?"

She shook her head. "No, he never talks to me. I just watch."

Jack thanked her, then walked to his own apartment, which was only about 3 blocks away. "Where could've he gone without telling me? Without telling any of us?" he asked himself. Bobby wasn't close with any of his family, so he highly doubted it had to do with them. He would email Bobby's Mom anyways when he got home.

?-?

At 2 AM, Bobby's plane finally landed. He quickly left the airport and hailed a cab to take him to his hotel.

"Am I doing the right thing?" he thought to himself.

?-?

The next day was Saturday, and so Sue was planning on surprising Lucy with a visit. She got up real early so that she could get there before noon. Tara had looked up and printed a map for her the day before, and it was very simple to get there, so she was very excited to see her best friend again.

By 9AM, Sue was in New York state, and was hungry, even though she ate before she left a few hours ago. She pulled off the highway, and found a diner nearby.

Once inside, she sat down and looked at the menu. Because of the long drive, Sue didn't bring Sunny, so when the waitress was calling for her, she was in such deep thought that she didn't know that anyone was there. Finally, Sue noticed, also seeing the annoyed look on the waitress.

"I'm so sorry. I'm Deaf. I didn't see you standing there."

"Mhm. Yeah. Whataya want." She said, still annoyed.

Sue smiled back apologetically. "I'll have the eggs and sausage." She replied, then handed her the menu.

Without a reply, the waitress turned and walked away.

?-?

Jack woke up after not sleeping much because of his friend, to an email back from Bobby's mom. It said;

Hi Jack, it was so nice to hear from you.

No, sorry, as far as I know, Bobby's not coming here. I'm sorry to disappoint you. Is there any other place he could go? Please let me know when you find him, as now I am worried too.

"Great. Now I made her worried." He said to himself. With that, he dragged himself to take a shower, hoping that would wake him up more. After that, he would try Bobby's cell again.

?-?

Sue's food was delivered fairly quickly, and surprisingly, it was fairly good. Once she finished, she paid, then left to get back on the road.

Never that great at directions in unfamiliar places, she got turned around, and lost the highway. She thought it was this way. Nope. She was sure it was that way. No way. She was sure she was lost. Yep. Stubborn as she was, she was determined to find the highway on her own. She drove around in circles for an hour until she finally decided to take out her phone to look exactly where she was. When she did, she found she was at least a half hour away from the highway.

"Well, here we go." She said to herself as she followed the directions to the highway.

?-?

After Jack tried Bobby again after his shower, he decided to go for a run. He just ran unconsciously, not thinking of where he was going, still thinking about Bobby. Soon enough he realized where he was. In the park that Sue used to walk Levi. He hadn't been in this park in over 10 years. He was amazed that he was standing here. It didn't hurt like he imagined it would, but that probably was because Sue was back in his life. If this was 2 months ago, he would be feeling completely different emotions.

He sat down on a bench to think. He saw a little girl playing with a dog and smiled. He then saw the parents who were sitting on a bench just across from him, and it made him think of Sue, and how he wished that was him and Sue. "Maybe one day," he said to himself.

He sat there and thought for a while. Eventually, he got out his phone.

"I know who I need to call."


	2. Chapter 2: CONGRATULATIONS Guest!

**CONGRATULATIONS: Guest! You win! (sorry, I'm a Bobby/Darcy fan, not a Bobby/Tara fan, like most of you)**

D was cleaning up the breakfast dishes, thinking about how his children have grown up. He smiled when he remembered when they would run around the house, playing whatever game their minds made up. Now, they're grown and out of the house. He missed them more than he let on. While he was reminiscing, his phone rang. He quickly glanced at it, then answered.

"What's up?"

He listened to the caller, then walked outside where Donna was enjoying one of the last warm summery Saturdays before fall. Once he hung up, he said to Donna, "I'll be back in a bit."

"Mhm," she replied, used to these Saturday trips. When you're married to an FBI agent, you never count that your husband will be home on Saturdays. Even Sundays, for that matter.

?-?

D arrived at the park, and quickly found who he was looking for. He walked up and sat down on the bench.

"Hey, What's up?"

Jack looked at him. "Too much." He replied, then turned back to watch the girl and her dog, who were now playing a game of hide and seek.

"You said you needed to talk?"

Jack nodded. "I don't know where to start."

"Maybe you could start from the beginning." D encouraged.

Jack smiled. "And where is that?" he again turned and looked at D.

"I don't know, where is that?"

Jack shook his head and looked at the pavement. "I don't know. 20 years ago, maybe. Maybe it's 10 years ago, or a month ago. I don't know. Maybe all of it."

D waited for Jack to say what was on his mind.

"I just can't seem to get anything right. First, I was too late, then I am too early. Then the timing is off, then my best friend just disappears." He rattled on.

Knowing what he was talking about, D encouraged, "Solve the problems you know how to. The rest will follow. Why don't you ask Tara to help you find Bobby. Sue will come with time."

"I don't have time. Our job doesn't let us. Something could happen in the blink of an eye." He turned away.

"And what got you thinking that? You were just fine, doing the same job for 20 odd years. What got you thinking about the dangerous ramifications now?" D chuckled.

Jack didn't answer, but the both of them knew. It was Sue. D continued. "What will be will be. You can't go around and change your life because of one person. And that one person will notice, and go back into her shell, and not come out because she thinks she is obstructing you in some way. Don't change because you want to prevent something. That can happen at any time, no matter if it is in an office, or outside. Believe me, we've seen some crazy things over the years. People think they are safe, when in reality, they are not. You could get shot in the line of duty and live, but then get killed by a car on the sidewalk a week later. You can't block that. That's God's plan, not yours."

Jack sat there, soaking in what he was saying. Talking with D always helped. He was the father figure for the whole team, and the whole team took advantage of that, some more than others.

"Let everything happen as it should. Don't force something that shouldn't, especially matters of the heart. Those should never be forced. You'll know when it's time to move forward."

"I know, everyone tells me that." Jack mumbled.

"Listen to them. They are wise." D smiled.

"I guess. Thanks D." he smiled at his friend.

"Hey, I'm always there for you."

Jack nodded and got up. "I have a phone call to Tara to make."

D smiled. "Good idea."

?-?

Early the next morning, Bobby got up and called a cab. Soon after that, they were on their way to the destination.

Of course, they hit traffic. Bobby was antsy, but they made it there just in time. He paid the driver and got out. He walked to the front entrance, and stood there. "Why am I so nervous?" He already knew the answer before he even thought the question.

In mere seconds, a woman came outside. At first, she was startled that he was standing there. Then she smiled. "Bobby,"

Bobby smiled back, grateful that she was receptive to his unannounced visit. "Ms. D'Angelo."


	3. Chapter 3

**NOTE TO JeanneJam & evieerose: Yes, she broke his heart by saying she needed to do it alone after he took a while to realize his love for her, but that was because she's an independent woman, very much like Sue. (Sue sort of did the same thing to Jack in my story, except Sue didn't let Jack even have a say at all, unlike Bobby [albeit, different circumstances]) She needs proof that he loves her (both couples, actually). If the show didn't end, I think he would've still ended up with her in some way or another (I don't think Darcy would come back to DC. I think he would've gone to her, or maybe called or written or something, proving his love). She's smart, determined and stubborn. He is almost exactly the same. They are just so good together. Sometimes opposites attract, but sometimes alike attracts as well. If I wrote a love character for him, it would be just like Darcy, just a different name. I re-watched the episode, I wasn't THAT heartbreaking, it's understandable. Painful, but understandable. She needed to prove to herself that she could do it alone. In the end, they never really said if they ever stayed in touch, but for my story, they didn't.**

**I'm not trying to change your mind, but tell me, don't you think they had such a great spark while they were together? Almost as good as Jack and Sue? I'm not a big Bobby/Tara fan because to me, they don't fit well together. They do, but something doesn't click. Tara can be a bit quirky sometimes (which I love about her. I play on that a bit in this story later on) but I honestly think Bobby would push her into reality too much, resulting in her losing her charming quirkiness. It might've been a great love at first, but I think ultimately she would've ended up broken, never the same Tara we all love. My heart breaks thinking about that. (besides, in the show they realized they really didn't fit together anyways. Each had their own loves) Tara is seen and acts like the guys' little sister. They toy around like that, especially with Bobby. At least for me, that's her perfect place. I was reading some Bobby/Tara fanfics for a while, and I ALMOST changed my mind, but when I went back to watching the show, I realized that my opinion was being altered by other peoples' fanfics (of which they took out her quirkiness, one of the things I love about her character). If the Tara that the fanfic writers wrote was the same as the shows' Tara, then yes, she would be perfect. She's not like that. Close, but not the same. So even though I loved the fanfic, I didn't agree with the romance. I don't know, that's just my opinion. Hate my story if you'd like. I don't mind. I know I'm one of the few Bobby/Darcy fans (I'm still in the process of reading, but I've only seen a few fanfics out here). I don't mind being different! :)**

**But am I the ONLY Bobby/Darcy fan out here?!**

**NOTE TO Phyl7375: It's the general outcome. Remember what I said earlier, it's like the team was frozen in time, and now they are realizing they have to live. I know it's a bit weird, but that's sorta how it's coming out. And no one encouraged Sue to go, she just decided to. New York isn't THAT far away! Remember, right now they're in a wishy washy relationship. (this, that, this, that) I didn't even write if she told the team (except Tara) that she even was going. I don't know if she would tell them.**

**TRIVIA: There are two things in this chapter that are related to the real actors. What is it? (if I give you any more, you'll know it right away! What's the point in that?!)**

?-?

Bobby persuaded Darcy to come to lunch with him, and she complied. Once they sat down at a table, she said, "So, what brings you to LA?"

Bobby just smiled at her. "You."

"Me? Bobby, we haven't talked in almost 15 years. Why me, why now?"

Bobby looked down, Maybe this wasn't the best idea he ever had. Either way, he had to try. "Things have been going on in my life that made me want to see you again. Sue came back, and Jack is tryi-"

"Sue came back?" Darcy interrupted, completely confused.

"Oh, uh, yeah, she left about 10 years ago because of her Dad's death. Jack convinced her to come back to the FBI about a month ago."

"Wow, I didn't know that she would even leave. She seemed like she loved it." Darcy looked away. "I also thought that they would've been married by now." She mumbled, then looked back at him.

"Yeah, well, I think it's more complicated than that, but she won't tell any of us."

"Well, what else have I missed?" she replied smiling.

Bobby wanted to get back on the subject he was on, but he guessed it would be good to catch up first.

Bobby looked up for a minute, lost in thought. "Uh, Lucy left, got married, had two kids, and lives in New York."

"Wow!" Darcy exclaimed. "Anyone else?"

Bobby shook his head. "Nope, same old, same old. Everyone is still working on the same team. How about you?"

Darcy sadly smiled. "After I moved, the job was great, but I never met anyone as charming as you." She smiled widely at him.

"Well, maybe we'll have to change that." He smiled back, returning the wide smile.

"Do you remember when you surprised me with that romantic dinner? It was so beautiful." Darcy asked as their drinks were delivered to their table.

"Mhm." Bobby replied. "Then I spilled wine on your favorite dress."

They both smiled at the memory. Somehow, it seemed like forever had passed, yet it felt like yesterday. Everything had changed, yet nothing had changed. That's what happens when you've been in love for years.

The both of them caught up with each other's lives and also relived some favorite memories during their lunch. The topic Bobby really wanted to bring up never came up again, but he figured if this was going well, then he would bring it up later.

?-?

While walking back to his apartment, Jack called Tara.

"Hello?"

"Hey, it's Jack. Can you look up where Bobby went? All I know is that he left with a big suitcase yesterday afternoon."

"Sure." She paused. "Are you OK? You didn't seem like your normal self yesterday."

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just not like Bobby to just disappear without anyone knowing."

"Yeah, but still. You've seemed a bit off for the last few days."

Avoiding the subject, he replied, "I didn't get much sleep last night. I was too worried."

Tara dropped the subject, but she knew something was off. She wasn't going to push him if he didn't want to be pushed. "Alright, I will let you know when I find something."

Jack smiled. "Thanks Tara. You're a lifesaver."

"That's my job!"

Jack laughed as he hung up and entered his building. "Well, I guess I have to do this by myself. He was supposed to help me this morning." He said to himself.

?-?

Finally, Sue was back on the highway, and almost at her destination. With each mile, she was second guessing her actions. "Will she want to see me? What if she's different?" these thoughts kept on coming into her mind.

Finally, she arrived at Lucy's house. It was a nice, new, large home in a nice neighborhood. When Sue got out of the car, she looked around and smiled. It was just like Lucy always dreamed. She was so glad for her friend that she got what she dreamed.

Sue nervously walked up the path, and knocked on the door and waited for someone to answer.

?-?

Right before Jack left, he decided to try his car again. It worked. Miraculous. He decided to take it to Troy after his appointment.

Just as Jack pulled into the parking lot of his destination, his phone rang.

"Hudson," he said after answering it.

"Hey, it's Tara. I found out where Bobby is."

"Where?" he replied, excitedly.

Tara teased him for a few seconds. Finally, she said, "LA."

"LA, as in California LA?"

Tara laughed. "Yeah, there's only one LA."

"What is he doing there?"

"I don't know. I can't find any more information yet. His plane landed this morning at 2 AM, and he checked into a hotel, but that's it."

"I know what." He replied, then said almost to himself, "Darcy."

?-?

The door opened, and Lucy stared in shock. "Sue!?"

Sue smiled in response. Lucy took her in a big hug. Once she let go, she said, "What are you doing here!?"

"I came to see an old friend."

"Well, come on in!" she explained, moving so that Sue could walk in the door.

Once inside, Sue looked around. Everything was so beautifully decorated.

Just then, two children came bounding down the stairs to meet the guest. Once they saw that it was a stranger, they slowly finished walking down the stairs, and went by their Mom. Lucy smiled and looked at them, then looked at Sue. "This is Deedee, she's 5, and Nick, who is 7." Lucy looked up, trying to remember how to sign their ages.

Sue crouched down to be eye-level with them. "Hi! My name is Sue. Your Mom and I used to work together, and be best friends."

"Really? I have a best friend." Deedee said, still holding onto her Mom's hand.

Lucy got Sue's attention. "Let's go sit in the living room and catch up."

Sue looked around while walking. "Your home is beautiful."

When Sue looked in Lucy's direction, she signed, "THANK YOU."

Sue smiled in response, grateful that her friend remembered some ASL after all these years.

Once the women were settled on the couch, and the children were on the floor playing with some Legos, Lucy asked, "So what are you doing here?"

Sue looked a bit embarrassed. "I came back to the FBI."

Lucy squealed. Her children looked at her questioningly. Soon enough, they looked back at what they were doing. "How did that happen?"

"Jack convinced me to come help them with a case, and I decided to stay."

"Jack!? Ooh, do I hear a romance-again!?" Sue could see Lucy's matchmaking skills were firing up.

"No, we work together. Work comes first." Even Sue didn't believe her own words this time. They seemed so fake, unbelievable.

Lucy looked at her suspiciously. "Yeah. So what else is new?"

Grateful that she dropped the subject for now, Sue updated her on her life, and Lucy did the same. They talked all late morning long, into the afternoon.

Just as Lucy was getting up to make lunch because her children were complaining that they were starving, Lucy's husband came thought the door.

"Sue! I want you to meet my husband Mark. Mark, this is my friend Sue from D.C."

Sue turned around and waved.

"Sue-your Deaf friend?"

Lucy nodded.

"Nice to meet you Sue." Mark replied.

"I was just about to make lunch, are you staying?" she asked her husband. He nodded.

"I'm just going up to change, then be right down."

Lucy nodded, and walked into the kitchen. Sue followed her.

"Mark is a lawyer. Sometimes he has to work on weekends. It's not great, but hey, what can you do?" she said right before going in the fridge.

"He seems nice."

Lucy nodded and smiled. "He is, he's great with the kids." She said between trips to the fridge and the counter. "And he's handsome!" She smiled at Sue. "Just like another would-be lawyer."

Sue understood the hint and smiled, but diverted the subject. "Can I help you with lunch?"

"Sure, Thank you!" Lucy replied gratefully.

?-?

Bobby and Darcy walked out of the restaurant.

"Walk you home?" he asked her.

"Wow, a gentleman," she retorted. "Sure. I live just down the street anyways.

As they were walking, Bobby looked around. "It's nice here. Warm, compared to D.C. You like it?" he turned to her.

She nodded. "I like my job, I like the people I work with." It seemed like she was going to say more, but didn't. Her smile turned a bit dark.

Soon enough, they were at her apartment building. She stopped and turned towards him. "This is me."

They both stood there in an awkward silence for a minute.

"Would you-"

"Do ya-"

They both said at the same time.

"You first." Bobby said.

Darcy squirmed a bit. "Would you like to come up for some coffee?"

"Sure." He replied back.

They entered the apartment's lobby together.

"I just have to collect my mail."

"Sure."

Bobby helped her hold her mail as she pulled it out of the box. When she pulled out a large envelope, her face darkened, and she turned away, but not soon enough so that Bobby saw.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, nothing." She forced a smile at him.

"That's not nothing." He said, grabbing at the envelope. She pulled it out of his reach.

"Really, it's nothing.

Finally, he reached far enough to grab the envelope. He looked at it. There was a typed To: address, but no address as to where it was from. Bobby frowned at it.

"Can-can we go upstairs?" Darcy asked nervously.

"Sure." He replied, hoping he would get more information about the envelope there.


	4. Chapter 4

**NOTE TO Guest: I agree to disagree on this :) I just wish I knew which way they were going to go in the show. Honestly, I don't think they would've continued your way, cause I read in an interview that they didn't want to even do the Sue/Jack thing at all, even though they wrote in the chemistry, and EVERYONE wants them together. I personally would have written that in so that everyone would be happy, but hey, I'm not one of the original writers. Unless one of my readers were one of the writers, we'll never know what they were planning, so it's a free for all on what happens with everyone!**

?-?

After Jack's appointment, he drove his car over to Charlie's Garage to have Troy look at it.

"Hi!" Maddy said as soon as Jack came inside.

"Hi." Still wondering about the young woman, he watched her more closely than he would normally any other person.

"What can I do for you today?"

"I, uh, my car wasn't working. I want Troy to look at it."

Maddy could feel that he was studying her, but she shrugged it off. She figured it was just because he was a FBI agent and couldn't shut off the suspicious glare in his personal life. "Sure! He's working on another car right now, but he'll get to it later today. Do you have transportation back?"

"Yeah, I'll just call-" he paused. Sue was in New York. Bobby was in LA. All the first choices were busy. D was with Donna and didn't want to bother him again, he didn't dare bother Myles or Mya, and Tara said she had a date tonight. Surely she would be getting ready right now. "No one." He finished.

"I can give you a lift!" Maddy replied.

"Really? You'd do that for me?"

"Sure! Just give me a minute, and I'll be ready."

"Thanks," he said, shocked that a girl he hardly knew would go out of her way to help him.

"Alright, where are we going?" she asked once in the car a few minutes later. Jack gave her the address, and they were on their way.

"How do you like D.C.?" he asked.

"It's great! I like working with Troy. Everyone-well, almost everyone I've met has been really nice."

"Don't you miss your family?"

Maddy paused, thinking. "Yeah I guess, but I am also glad to be free. It was one or the other, and I chose freedom."

Jack thought about that. It was the most she had ever said about her family, and so he had to think about that for a while.

Soon enough, they pulled up to his apartment building.

Thanks for driving me." He said before getting out.

"No problem. Do you need me to pick you up when your car is ready?"

Jack looked at her through the open car window, where he had closed the door and stood outside.

"No, I'm good. Thanks anyway, though!"

"Ok, see you later!" she said, then drove off.

"Wow, that is one kind girl." He said to himself. Maybe he shouldn't be so hard on her after all.

?-?

Sue, Lucy, Mark, Deedee and Nick were eating lunch outside on the back porch.

"So, how did you both meet?" Sue asked between bites. Knowing Lucy, it would be a long story.

"We met on a case." Lucy said, smiling at her husband.

"Yeah, I was the defense lawyer, and-"

"I saw you across the room." Lucy remembered dreamily.

"We didn't actually meet until several months later." Mark continued.

"Until I spilled coffee all over his shirt at our favorite coffeehouse." She said, laughing. Everyone laughed.

"We dated soon after that, and the rest is history." She smiled at her friend. "I so wished you would've been there. I sent you an invitation, but I never received anything back."

"You did? I never received anything. If I did, I surely would've come up for that!"

"I wasn't sure you wanted to talk to any of us, so I just let it go."

"What made you think that?" Sue asked.

"Well, you just left without really saying goodbye. We all missed you, and Jack really took it hard."

"Really?" Sue asked, concerned.

Lucy nodded. He buried himself in work, trying to make his feelings go away. It almost affected his judgement on a few cases a few times in the beginning, but thankfully he got it together."

"Wow," she replied, shocked that she didn't know this before, but it all made sense, that conversation at Slappy's.

They all sat there, thinking about 10 years prior. The kids decided to go play in the yard.

Sue looked at her watch. "Oh, I have to go. I'm sorry, but if I want to make it to D.C. before dark, I have to leave now. I got lost on the way up here, so I don't want to do that again."

"Really? Oh, I've missed you so much," Lucy said before getting up and hugging her.

"Me too." Sue said and signed.

"We have to do this again, Ok?"

Sue nodded. "Deal." She said and signed.

?-?

"Tell me about this envelope." Bobby said once they arrived in her apartment and sat down on the couch.

"The letters started coming about 2 months ago. I get one once a week. Sometimes twice a week. They don't have any identification on them."

"What does it say on the inside?" Bobby prodded.

"They're threats. Demeans on me and my reporting style. Sometimes it says if I report on a specific topic, I would pay for it. Others say that what I said was untrue and that I was a liar, but I know that what I said was the truth. A few of them even say that I am to say certain words on a specific topic, but I never do."

"Have you contacted the police?" he asked, worried about her safety.

Darcy shook her head again. "That's another threat. The letters say that if I tell the police about them, I will pay for that as well. They claim they are watching me."

"Well, they're not watching me." Bobby said determinedly.

Darcy put a hand on his arm as he started getting up. "Don't-don't do anything. I don't want you to get hurt."

He sat back down. "So you want them to bully you all the time?"

She looked away. "No, but I don't want you involved."

"Darcy, I care for you. I always have, and always will. Just because you decided to leave D.C. didn't mean I wouldn't stop loving you. I'm going to figure this out for you. I have a friend in the San Diego Postal Inspection Service. I will go down there with this letter and a few others that you have tomorrow, and see what he says."

Darcy nodded her head in defeat. "Ok, but just be careful."

"Don't worry, I always am." He smiled at her.


	5. Chapter 5

**NOTE: I kind-of combined two of my favorite shows. If you haven't seen The Inspectors, GO WATCH IT! It is technically a kids program, but the topics brought up aren't kids topics. The show's style is Sue Thomas FBeye-meets-Wishbone-meets-Signed Sealed Delivered.**

**TRIVIA: I put a hidden trivia unconsciously in this chapter that I found myself! Let's see if you can find it; it is another real-life actor trivia, similar to last time.(BTW, the answer was DeeDee (Deanne) and Nick (Yanick) ) (And I actually named this one for a favorite singer that grew up in the area, but it just happened to be the same as the Sue related one)**

?-?

First thing Sunday morning, Bobby drove down to San Diego to meet his Postal Inspector friend. He had called ahead, so he was expecting him.

"Hey!" Andrew Peters said when Bobby pulled up.

"Hey there mate!" Bobby said when he got out of the car.

"You said there was something up?" Andrew asked when Bobby walked over.

"Yeah, could we go inside?"

"Sure, c'mon in." Andrew led the way to the dining room table, where his wife, Zoe was cleaning up the dishes.

"Bobby! So nice to see you again!" she exclaimed when she looked up.

"Zoe, hi."

"How long has it been? 5 years?"

Bobby nodded. "Yup, when this guy decided to up and move to Sunny California." He patted Andrew's back.

Andrew motioned for him to sit. "What's up?"

Bobby pulled the new, unopened letter, plus a few older ones out of his pocket. "A friend of mine keeps on receiving these in the mail."

"Mhm," was Andrew's reply. After reading them, he said, "LA is not my jurisdiction, but I do have some friends there. I will take these and get them analyzed here, and send the info off to LA for them to investigate.

"Thanks, mate."

?-?

Early the next morning, Jack received a text from Troy that his car was ready. Turns out he needed a new starter. Luckily, he had an old one from an old car he took apart a while back, so it wasn't that expensive to fix. After he ate breakfast and went on his morning run, he texted Sue to pick him up to pick up his car.

"Hey," she said when he got in her car.

"Hey. How was Lucy?" he asked, trying to see how she was today. It seemed like she was more like her usual self, so he was grateful. Maybe he had a chance.

"Good. It was so nice to see her again."

"I bet."

A little bit later, they were at Charlie's Garage. Troy came out to greet them. "HI." He signed.

"HI" the both of them responded.

"YOU NEED NEW CAR." He signed to Jack.

"WRONG WITH THIS ONE WHAT" Jack asked.

"OLD."

Sue laughed. "I think wants you to buy a new car so he doesn't have to work on such a old piece of junk." Sue joked,

"Hey! That's a nice piece of junk! I've had it for over 10 years!"

Sue looked at him sympathetically. "I think it's time to let it go."

"But-"

"No buts. We are going car shopping next weekend."

Jack sighed in defeat.

"Hey, can I come with?" Maddy asked excitedly, coming towards the trio. "Troy has been teaching me about cars, and I would love to use the info I've been learning!"

Jack laughed. "Sure."

?-?

Bobby visited with Andrew for a little bit, then left for LA. While on the road, his keen FBI senses told him that somebody was following him. He quickly, but not suspiciously, got off the highway and tried to lose them with no luck. Just as he was driving down a road with a ditch to the right of the road, the car tailing Bobby sped up and hit his car, making him lose control, and driving into the ditch. The car rolled over a couple times, and the last thing Bobby remembered was thinking, "Oh great, not again."

?-?

Tara was scanning her computer for any more updates on Bobby. She didn't sleep much because of it, and besides, her date the night before was a dud, both because of the man, and Bobby. Tara sighed. "Will I ever find someone?"

She had dated Stanley for so long, and finally in 2007, he asked her to marry him, and she said yes, but she found that he couldn't divide work and home life like she thought he could, and that is what she needed. Someone who could talk about work when needed, but also NOT talk about work than needed, yet understand what she was going through. They divorced 2 years later, and she hadn't found anyone else as of yet. She did hear though, that Stanley married again, and moved to South Dakota to work for the FBI there. She was happy for him. Truly happy. She still wanted to be friends, but he didn't feel that way, so they hadn't talked in over 10 years.

Just then, her computer beeped, letting her know she had a new notification. She looked at the screen. "Oh no, I need to call Jack."


	6. Chapter 6 CONGRATULATIONS Guest!

**CONGRATULATIONS Guest! Yay! You got it right!**

**TRIVIA: What item in this chapter is used for something that the actor of the character loves to do? (Sorry, I love knowing random trivia. I just happened to watch something that mentioned this recently, and I needed something, and I thought of it, lol)**

Bobby briefly woke up in a fog, to a man rustling though his pockets. "Wha-what are you…"

"Darn it. They're not here." He heard someone say as he drifted back out of consciousness.

The next time he woke up, he heard beeping, but couldn't see anything. "Wh-where am…" he heard people yelling, and that was it. He fell back into unconsciousness.

?-?

As they were talking with Maddy and Troy, Jack's phone rang.

"Hudson."

Sue watched as Jack's face grew dark. He quickly hung up the phone.

"I need to get to LA." He said, then quickly grabbed his keys from Maddy, who was just handing them over, and drove away. Sue looked after him in shock, then realized she would have to move fast to catch up with him. She too got in her car and sped off after him.

Once at his apartment building, she ran up to his floor, and knocked on his door. "Jack? Jack, please answer. I know you're in there."

She kept on knocking until he answered.

"What's going on?" she asked worriedly once he did.

Jack hesitated, still holding onto the door. "Bobby's uh, Bobby's in the hospital."

"What!? What happened?"

Jack motioned for her to come in. Once inside, she gave him a look that demanded an answer.

"There was an accident. Bobby's in the hospital. That's all that Tara told me. I'm going to LA."

"You're not going alone. I'm coming with you." She replied.

"No, I'll be fine. You stay with your Mom."

Just then, Jack's phone rang.

"Hudson."

"Hey Jack, it's Tara. I found out some more information. It looks like he's in pretty bad shape. He's unconscious right now, and has a broken leg. They can't confirm anything else until he wakes up."

Jack's face dropped. He was praying it wasn't serious, but the confirmation from Tara confirmed the worst, or almost the worst. He could be dead. He was grateful that he wasn't.

"You OK?" Tara asked, hearing no response from her friend.

"Uh, yeah."

"What's going on?" Sue asked, not being able to read his face with what was going on.

"Tara found out more details." He replied quickly.

"Sue's there?" Tara asked, hearing Sue's voice.

"Yeah, she wants to com-" he started.

"I told him I need to come with him. He's not thinking correctly with worry, and I don't think it is a good idea for him to travel 4,000 miles away without anyone." She said, louder, hoping Tara heard.

"Sue's right. You shouldn't go alone."

Now Tara too? "Guys, I'm fine. I got to go finish packing." He hung the phone up on Tara, and walked towards his bedroom. Sue followed him.

Once she got there, he was already hidden in his closet, pulling out things. She sat on his bed, looking at his suitcase, where a bunch of random items were just thrown in. "Since when do you need ski goggles in Sothern California?" she asked jokingly, holding up the goggles for him to see.

Jack turned around to see, then laughed, embarrassed. "I guess I really am not thinking right."

Sue nodded in confirmation. "See? You need me."

Jack shook his head determinedly and continued packing. "No."

Sue stayed silent for a bit while he finished packing.

Just as he finished packing and was bringing his suitcase to the door, someone knocked on his door. Jack went to answer it.

"Surprise!" Tara said, suitcase in hand. She walked in. "I am not leaving until you take one of us with you. Remember, we care about Bobby, same as you. We also care for you too. And I don't think Bobby would want anything to happen to you ether."

All Jack could do was shake his head and laugh, despite the situation. These women didn't give up, did they? "Alright. You're coming with."

?-?

"He said he would call by now. Where is he?" Darcy said to herself. She dialed his number yet again. Straight to voicemail.

Just then, something on the TV caught her eye;

"A car was found on the side of a road late this morning. It appears that the man drove off the road and into the ditch, the car rolling several times. He is being helicoptered to the local hospital. Paramedics did not state the condition of the driver."

"Bobby." She said, identifying the car and quickly grabbed her keys, and ran out the door.


	7. Chapter 7 CONGRATULATIONS Evierose!

**CONGRATULATIONS Evierose! Boy, I'm giving a lot of chapters away today, lol.**

Jack and Tara quickly drove to the airport, and Sue drove back home.

"How are you?" Tara asked, seeing his worried face.

"Better when we get on a plane. Hopefully they'll have a cancellation."

"Already done. We are on a flight headed for San Diego in an hour."

Jack quickly smiled at her before looking back on the road. "Thank you." Tara always thinks of everything, and he was grateful for that.

Soon enough, they were on the flight, and on their way to California.

?-?

Darcy rushed to the Emergency Room nurses station. "I demand to see Bobby Manning." She almost-yelled.

"You'll have to wait over there. He is not receiving visitors." The nurse behind the counter said emotionless, not looking up, and lazily pointing to a sitting area.

She slammed her hand on the counter. "No, I demand to see him, NOW."

"What is your relationship to the patient?" she said, still not looking up.

Darcy thought for a second. She knew they would not let her in if she said she was a friend or girlfriend. "I'm his fiancé."

"Wait here please." The nurse said, getting up and walking behind the doors.

"Now, were getting somewhere," she said to herself.

A few moments later, a doctor came out to talk to her. "You are Mr. Manning's fiancé?"

"Agent Manning, and yes." She replied.

"Sorry, Agent Manning."

"Can I see him?" she said nervously.

"Well, he's unconscious right now, but I guess you could."

"Thank you." She said, almost running to go see him.

"Miss, hold up, I will take you there." The doctor said, catching up to her.

Once inside Bobby's room, a tear formed in her eye. He looked so helpless. Here was this strong man she knew for so long, and he was lying in a hospital bed, minor scrapes from the glass all over his face and arms, his leg in a cast, and tons of monitors connected to him. She paused only a moment in the doorway, then ran to his side. "I'm here, I'm here," she whispered.

"I'll leave you be for a bit." The doctor said, then walked out of the room.

?-?

Once they landed, Jack and Tara rushed out of the airport, caught a taxi, and rushed as fast as they could to the hospital.

"We'd like to see Bobby Manning."

"He's not accepting visitors." The nurse said, not looking up.

Jack pulled out his badge. "FBI. We'd like to see Bobby Manning."

This time, she looked up. "Look, I do as I'm told. I was told he was not accepting visitors. They let his fiancé in, but that's it. I'm not going to have you two make a circus out of this hospital."

Tara looked at Jack. "Fiancé?"

"Darcy." Jack replied to Tara, then said to the nurse. "Look, we're FBI. Bobby is FBI. If your supervisor finds out that you didn't comply with FBI, I don't think they would be too happy with you."

"Alright, alright, I'm going." the nurse said, obviously nervous, then went through the doors to get a doctor.

Once the nurse was gone, Tara asked, "Darcy?"

Jack nodded.

Tara tried to read his face. "Ok, what do you know?"

"Nothing. Why else would Bobby come here?"

"Oh, I don't know, vacation? Why would Darcy say she was his fiancé?" she asked.

"Cause she knew they wouldn't let her in otherwise. Can you think of anyone else who could pass as Bobby's fiancé?"

Tara thought for a moment. "No."

Just then, a doctor came out. "Come with me."

He lead them to Bobby's room, where they found Darcy holding Bobby's hand, crying. When she heard that someone was in the room, she looked up and dried her eyes quickly. "It's all my fault. I'm sorry." She said between sobs that she couldn't control. The two of them never saw her this shook up before. She was always so collected.

"Hey, it's OK." Tara said, coming to her side.

"No, it's my fault. I should have never told him."

"Told him what?" Jack asked, still standing by the foot of the bed.

Darcy stayed quiet.

Just then, Bobby started moving and jerking around. "No, wha- who are- get away-"

All three of them looked at him, very concerned.

"It's obviously a nightmare." Tara said.

Darcy put her head down on the blankets, and started sobbing into them. Jack knelt by her. "If you know anything about what happened, you have to tell us. You know you can trust us."

"I can't. he'll hurt you too."

"Who?"

"I don't know."

Jack put a hand on her shoulder. "Please, whatever you know, will help us catch whoever did this."

She looked up at him, scanning his face. "OK."


	8. Chapter 8

"So why was Bobby here?" Jack asked once they got Darcy settled on the uncomfortable couch in the hospital room.

"I don't know. He just showed up."

"OK, why do you say it was your fault?" Jack asked, still confused.

"Because I showed him the letters." She broke down again.

"Letters? What letters?" Tara asked, as confused as Jack was.

"Letters I'm receiving in the mail. They're threatening me about how I report." She said once she composed herself again.

The two agents looked at each other.

"They follow me. They know what I'm doing, what I'm saying, who I'm with. They found out about Bobby, and did this to him." Darcy then looked at Bobby, still unconcious in the hospital bed.

Jack looked at Tara worriedly. They knew Darcy too well. She usually never believed things like this, at least the Darcy they knew previously. He then looked back at her where she was crying in her lap. "Do you know where Bobby was going, or coming from when this happened?" Tara asked encouragingly.

Darcy shook her head. "All he said was that he had a friend in the USPIS in San Diego. He didn't mention any names."

Tara looked to Jack, who she knew would be the only person that knew anyone Bobby knew in San Diego. He shook his head.

"I'll start a search on Bobby's phone records." Tara said while taking out her laptop out of her bag.

After a few minutes, she had some results. "It looks like he talked to a Andrew Peters in San Diego last night. Could that be it?" Tara asked, looking at them both.

Jack nodded his head, looking off into the distance. "Bobby knew an Andrew a little while ago. He worked at the FBI in D.C. for a time, but he moved to California a while back. I don't know anything else about him, though."

"It looks like we are going to San Diego to pay him a visit." She replied.

Jack looked out the window. "Not tonight, though, It's too dark. If we get lost, we won't know where we are. We'll go first thing in the morning."

With that, they said their goodbyes to Darcy, who was staying with Bobby overnight, and went to their hotel.

?-?

The two of them went to their respective hotel rooms to get some sleep, but Tara couldn't sleep, even after 2 hours of tossing and turning. She opened her eyes and looked at the clock. "11 PM. Great, just 7 more hours to go." She sighed, threw on some jeans and a t-shirt, grabbed some money, her phone, and went out of her room. She was hungry, so she decided to go visit the vending machine down the hall.

Once she got to the end of the hall where the machine was, she saw someone was there, so she stood in line and waited to use it herself. She decided to check her emails while waiting, so she grabbed her phone out of her pocket.

A few seconds later, the man using the machine quickly whirled around, and not expecting anyone there, crashed right into Tara, spilling the newly-opened soda can all over her shirt and phone.

Tara jumped back, and looked at the man, and forgot all about the soda dripping down her shirt onto her jeans and floor. He was the most handsome man she had ever met in person. "Hi." She said dreamily, with a smile.

"Hi." He returned the smile. Then, he shook his head to get back into reality. "Oh my gosh, I am sooo sorry. Here, let me help you." He quickly grabbed a few stray napkins on a table next to the machine, handed some to her, and kept some so that he could wipe her phone dry while she dries her own shirt. Once cleaning up as much damage as he could, he said, "Again, I am so sorry."

She smiled at him, still not thinking of the soda, "It's OK."

"I'd like to make it up to you. Are you free tomorrow night, say around 7?"

Forgetting all about why she was in California in the first place, she replied, "Sure."

"Ok then, I'll pick you up in the lobby then." he smiled at her. They both stood there, smiling, not saying a word.

Soon enough, he said, "Well, I better go. Have a good night." He smiled at her while he walked around her to go to his room.

"You too." She whispered, still standing in the same place, a smile still as wide as it was before.

?-?

Early the next morning, Tara knocked on Jack's door. He answered, obviously still asleep, hair tousled, and sleepily looking at her chipper face.

"Ready?" she asked excitedly.

"Why are you so excited this morning." He mumbled.

Not answering, she replied, "Let's go! I'll be waiting for you downstairs." She then turned and walked down the hall.

"Mhm. Great. Another one." He said as he closed the door.

15 minutes later, Jack came downstairs to where Tara was finishing her breakfast. "What took you so long?" she asked, food still in her mouth.

"Not all of us can wake up quickly like you and Sue." He replied.

Tara shook her head and she took a bite of her waffle. "Mhm, no I never went to sleep." She said smiling.

"You what?" Jack asked, shocked. That woke him up.

Tara shook her head. "No."

"Why?"

Tara looked up dreamily. "I met someone."

Jack raided his eyebrows. "You did?"

Tara nodded. "He's amazing. He spilled soda all over me."

"He did? What's his name?"

"Don't know. We are going out tonight, and I can't wait!" she quickly got up, and quickly walked outside to the car. Jack just rolled his eyes at her.

?-?

During the whole drive to Bobby's friend Andrew, Jack kept on looking at Tara, who was dreamily looking out the window. He had never seen her this way, and so he was completely confused. Normally she was so professional, no matter what the circumstances, but here, she was acting weird. Sure, she had quirks, who doesn't? But this was completely different.

"You OK?" he asked at a stoplight.

"Yeah," she almost whispered, a smile on her lips. "Why?" She turned to him.

"You're acting…" he hesitated. "Different."

She smiled, then looked out the window again. "I am different. I met _him_."

Jack looked at her completely confused. The light turned green, so he looked back on the road. All the rest of the way he tried to think of why, but couldn't come up with anything.

Soon enough, they were at Andrew's house. They both got out, walked up to the front door, and knocked.

A man answered. "Can I help you?"

Jack showed him his badge. "FBI. Was Agent Bobby Manning here yesterday morning?"

The man looked confused. "Bobby? Yeah, why?"

"May we come in?" Tara interjected before Jack could continue.

Andrew lead them into the living room. "What is this about? He asked, concerned.

"There was an accident, except we don't think it was an accident. We are trying to retrace Bobby's steps, and Darcy mentioned that he went to see you." Jack replied.

"Yes, he asked me to analyze some letters his friend received. What kind of accident?" he asked, very concerned.

"Is there any way to see the letters?" Jack asked, trying to avoid the topic so that he could get the information he needed before he gave all the details.

Andrew nodded. "They is at work. I was just leaving right before you came. Can you please tell me what is going on?" he turned and looked at Tara, hoping she would have the compassion to tell him.

She sadly smiled at him. "We will tell you on the way."

?-?

When Sue woke up the next morning, she decided to call the hospital that Bobby was at, hoping to find out how he was. She found out the room number, and the phone was ringing. Finally, someone picked up.

"Hello?" The intermediary signer for Sue's Videophone signed.

"Hi, Bobby?" Sue said.

"No, this is Darcy."

"Darcy! Hi! How's Bobby?" Sue asked, surprised that she was there, but glad that she was.

"He's still unconscious. They're hoping he wakes up soon, otherwise they think he might never."

Sue sat there in thought, unsure about what she should say. She couldn't think of going back to the FBI without Bobby there ever again. "He'll come through. How are you?"

Darcy sighed, but Sue didn't know that. "A wreck."

"Everything will come out OK. Trust God." Sue replied.

"Oh, I gotta go, something's wrong."

"OK, call me later?" Sue asked, concerned.

"Yeah, bye"

?-?

On the way to USPIS headquarters, Tara and Jack briefed Andrew in on what happened. Once they finished, Andrew got a call on his phone.

"Hello?... What?...Everything?... I'll be there in a few minutes."

Noticing Andrew's ghostly appearance, Jack asked, "What was that about?"

"Everything from every current case in forensics has been stolen-including Bobby's letters."


	9. Chapter 9

**NOTE: I now started a petition to bring Sue back. I don't know if that's going to do anything, but I did it. I just needed to do something. I emailed it to everyone I have contacted thus far, and I pray that they will sign it. I know I can't post links on here, but it's on change . org, called "BRING BACK SUE THOMAS F. !" is that a bold enough title? Lol. Anyways, if you could sign it, that would be amazing. Sue needs all the help she can get. I haven't received any signatures yet, but 5 people shared it!**

**Delete the spaces to get the link (hopefully this works) chng. it/ 2jpZWbKyCN**

**NOTE TO JeanneJam: Sorry, I might be taking this literally. Do you mean ringing Tara's doorbell, or is it a metaphor for making her feel so in love? If it is the latter, you'll find out more info once they leave Darcy's apartment!**

**NOTE TO Guest: Lol! At first I was like, wait, what? Then I understood! No, he's a ACC, but similar. (honestly, I kind-of played it off of Tara Samuel and her real husband) You'll find out soon!**

?-?

Once Darcy hung up the phone, she stared at the heart monitor, where Bobby's blood pressure was dropping. She looked down at him. She didn't notice the nurses and doctors that came in the room. She just saw the man she loved, alone an helpless in his unconscious world.

"Loved?" she thought to herself. "Maybe 15 years ago, but still?" she didn't think it was possible, but with all that happened, she couldn't be sure of anything.

After a few seconds which felt like hours, his blood pressure normalized. Darcy let out a breath she didn't even know she was holding. She was going to hold onto this drip of hope she had right now that everything was going to be OK.

?-?

Andrew rushed into the USPIS building, straight into forensics. Jack and Tara tailed him.

Once inside the room, everyone was looking around, mystified as to how this could happen. There were security systems all around and in the building. None of them had gone off, nor is there any footage of anyone in the building. They had no leads. Nothing left behind.

"What'll we do?" the woman who seemed to be the head of the forensics department asked Andrew. He replied with a frown.

Jack and Tara looked around, trying to see if they could help in any way.

"We need to find more about those letters. I think they might hold the key." Jack replied to himself.

"Is there any way we could?" the woman asked him.

Jack nodded while taking out his phone. "I'll call Darcy."

?-?

Darcy stared at Bobby, praying that he would wake up soon.

"God," she whispered. "Please, Please, don't take him away from me, just when I found him again. I don't know if I can live without him."

Before she cold contemplate her prayer, her phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Hey Darcy, it's Jack."

"Have you found anything out?" she asked hopefully.

"Uh, there's a bit of a problem, do you happen to remember what were in those letters?"

"I can do better. Come by my apartment in an hour." She said hoarsely. This was getting too dangerous, but she knew that she couldn't back out now. Too many lives were on the line.

Just as she hung up, Bobby groaned and shook his head gently. Darcy quickly noticed this, and ran to his side. "Bobby, she said softly.

Bobby groaned. He opened his eyes in her direction, only to squint and close them again.

"Darcy?" he whispered.

"I'm right here."

He tied again, this time able to open his eyes. "Wh-what happened?"

"There was an accident." She started.

The confusion in his eyes disappeared, and recollection replaced it. "I gotta get that guy," he said, and tried to sit up, only to have a wave of dizziness, and laid back down.

"Shhh. Jack and Tara are on it."

"Jack? Tara? They're here in LA?" he looked at her questioningly.

Darcy nodded. "They came as soon as they heard about you."

Bobby smiled, eyes closed, as he laid his head back down on the pillow.

"Why don't you take a nap now, and I will see you later, OK?"

"Mhm." He said as he drifted back off to sleep.

Darcy got up and got ready to leave, but before she left, she gazed at Bobby from the doorway. "I can't have anything else bad happen." She thought to herself, then left the hospital.

?-?

"I'm not taking any chances this time. I'm taking some agents with us to LA. I don't want anything else to happen." Andrew said to Jack and Tara worriedly. The pair nodded in agreement. "I've never seen this before, ya know?" he continued.

"I have. When you've worked at the FBI for over 20 years, you've seen just about everything. You're still young. You'll find out this world can think up some really gruesome things." Jack replied.

Andrew closed his eyes with a horrible look on his face, thinking about what Jack had said. "I pray that they are few and far between." Just then, Andrew's phone rang, so he looked at it. "They're ready for us."

Jack and Tara followed him to a line of cars, security people and agents all around. Hopefully this many people will steer whoever was doing this away.

They drove to LA, sirens blaring.

Once at Darcy's apartment complex, they quickly, but quietly got out and went up the back stairs so as to not alarm anyone.

Once there, Jack knocked on Darcy's door. She opened, a sad smile on her face. She let the whole team in.

There were so many agents, many of them had to stand, since Darcy didn't have as many chairs and couches as agents.

"Here's the last of them." She said as she handed over a few letters to Jack once everyone sat down, or situated themselves in place.

Jack quickly looked at them, then handed them over to Andrew, both wearing gloves to not add any more fingerprints than needed. All each of them said were; "Hrm,"

Once Andrew thoroughly looked at it, he handed it over to a forensics specialist who came with them to investigate the letters as well. After a few minutes, she came back with a few results.

"The letters were typed, so no handwriting analysis can be done. There were no fingerprints, but I wasn't expecting any. This was a professional job. According to my database, there has been several similar harassing instances from this same postmark location, so you're not alone." She looked at Darcy sympathetically. "I am now going to do a few paper tests that might narrow down the source of the paper, but there's not much else I can do, I'm sorry."

Everyone stared into space, racking their brains to try to figure out what to do next.

Time has passed, but for the team, it was seconds. Suddenly someone knocked on the door. Darcy went to open it.

"What's this? A black box?" she asked questioningly.

Jack heard this, and jumped up. "Darcy, No!" he yelled, ran over to her, and threw the box down the hall, then pulled her in the apartment and shut the door. Just as he shut the door, they all heard a blasting noise, and the ground shook like a earthquake, some plaster coming off the ceiling in various places.

Jack who was still holding Darcy, fell down from the rumbling, Darcy coming with. Many of Darcy's glass items fell and cracked.

Once the rumbling stopped, Darcy whispered, "Wha-was that a bomb?"

Jack nodded.


	10. Chapter 10

**NOTE: I've figured out that I need 5 people to make the petition live. And I only need two more people to do so! **

**NOTE TO Guest: Interesting about Tara. It still says on her IMDB that she's been married since 2004 to present, and at least in 2014 when she did the video question thing for STFBEYE, she was married cause she mentioned him in present tense. Probably cause she's not very technical, the stuff isn't out there like everyone else's would be.**

?-?

Jack slowly got up. "No one move. The slightest movement could set off something that you don't want." He slowly tip-toed to the door, and opened it a crack. The place where he threw the bomb was replaced by a ginormous hole. They were all lucky to be alive, and had somewhere to stand. Any closer, and Darcy's whole apartment would be in the hole. Jack slowly came back to the group of people.

"No one talk loudly, anything could set off a chain reaction. Thank God we are all safe. I am going to try to call 9-1-1, but they probably already know about it."

"What happened?" Tara whispered, deathly white.

"Someone left Darcy a bomb. I believe it only affected this and a few floors down, but I'm not sure." Not wanting to hear more, Tara nodded and looked out the window, of which she heard sirens in the distance. She heard Jack calling, but couldn't comprehend the words. All she could think of was how she almost missed death. Sure, this has happened several times, and she's seen and been in similar circumstances, but somehow, being out of her element of D.C., it seemed more real. She couldn't be professional. She just sat there in shock, not saying a single word. All she could do was pray.

?-?

Bobby was fully awake, and bored. He turned on the TV, only to find the news showing what had happened to Darcy's apartment.

"A bomb was set off in this apartment building this afternoon, we have been told that there are several casualties, and many people are caught inside the building. We will keep you updated." The news reporter said.

"Oh my God, Darcy," he said as he tried to get up. He managed to stand up, but alarms were going off, and the minute he got up, a wave of dizziness came, and he fell back down again, just as nurses came rushing in the room.

"Darcy," he mumbled as the nurses set him back in bed.

"It's OK, she will be back soon," one of the nurses assured him.

"No, you see, she is-" he started, but another nurse interrupted.

"Shhh, get some sleep." She then injected a sleeping agent to help get Bobby relaxed again.

"I need to find her," he whispered as he drifted off to sleep.

?-?

Time felt like it went by in a blink of an eye, yet seemed to take forever at the same time. Finally, a firefighter came up with a ladder to their window, and the crew was able to exit the building. At that moment, Darcy was grateful that she was on the 4th floor, and not the 15th, like some people. Trying to get down from that height would be terrifying.

Once down, everyone went their own separate ways. The USPIS team went to San Diego to work on the case, Darcy, not having a home at the moment, went back to the hospital to be with Bobby, and Jack and Tara went back to the hotel.

Once back at the hotel, Tara rushed to her room. She only had 20 minutes to get ready for her date. She quickly put on the nicest thing she brought, a bit of makeup, but didn't have a chance to do her hair. It was much longer than she usually had it, so it was all knotted from the afternoon.

"Oh well, it'll have to do." She said to herself in the mirror, then ran out of the room.

Once down in the lobby, she looked around. Once she caught his eye, she smiled dreamily and walked over to him.

"Hi." She almost whispered.

"Hi, you look beautiful." He said as he pulled a bit of drywall out of her hair, not caring that there were more pieces in her hair. She smiled back.

"Thank you."

They stood there for a few moments.

"Do you want to go sit down?" he finally asked.

Unable to speak, Tara nodded.

Once situated at a table in the restaurant in the hotel and looking at the menu, he asked, "I just realized I never got your name."

Tara blushed. "Tara."

"Well, Tara, my name's Caleb."

"Caleb," she whispered. It fit him so perfectly.

"What brings you to LA?" Caleb asked.

"Uh, a friend and coworker came here to visit someone, but had an accident, so my other friend and coworker and I came down to visit him and make sure everything's OK."

Caleb raised his eyebrows. "Oh! I hope everything's OK now."

Tara smiled. "Yeah, everything's just fine."

Just then the waitress came to get their drink orders. They gave them to her, and they continued their conversation.

"How about you, why are you in LA?" Tara asked.

"Well, I'm a filmmaker. I made a film in my hometown in Virginia,"

"You live in Virginia?" Tara interrupted excitedly.

Caleb nodded, then continued. "Yeah, anyways, I came here to pitch it to be picked up by a larger production company."

"And did they?" she asked.

Caleb shook his head. "No, they didn't like my pitch. They wouldn't even watch it."

"I'll watch it." She replied, smiling.

?-?

Jack decided to take the evening to FaceTime Sue and update her on what was happening. It rang a few times, then she answered.

"Hi," he said and waved. She returned the hi and wave.

"How's Bobby?"

"OK, Darcy said he woke up." He said and signed.

"That's good!" she exclaimed.

"We will go visit him in the morning." He said and signed.

"Tell him I said hi!"

"Don't worry, I will. How's it by you?" he asked and signed.

"OK, it was nice to be at work to distract me from Bobby today. Amy and I finally figured out what was going on in the video. The people that we thought were part of the crime were just innocent bystanders. It was the people in the background that were the real culprits."

Jack nodded in response. "You guys arrest them today?" he said and signed.

Sue nodded. They sat there in silence for a few minutes. "When do you think he will be able to come home?"

"DON'T KNOW." Jack signed. "Hopefully soon." He added.

?-?

At the USPIS lab, the forensics team were testing the letters though every test imaginable. Not a single clue.

"What else can we do?" a disgruntled intern asked Andrew, who was standing next to her.

"There has to be SOMETHING." Have you checked over the entire sheet of paper for fingerprints?" he asked.

She hesitated. "Not every inch, most. Only the places that they would most likely be."

"Do it. This is my friend that is in danger." He said determinedly then walked out the door.

?-?

After dinner, Tara followed Caleb to a bench outside of their hotel where they sat and watched his film. It was very romantic, the aroma of the flowers was very strong and inviting, and the crickets serenaded them throughout the movie. Once it finished, she exclaimed,

"That was AMAZING! How could anyone refuse to want to support it?"

"I know one thing that would've made it a better film," he said quietly, in contrast to her excited, loud voice, smiling at her.

"What?" she returned the smile and quiet voice.

"You as the star."

"Really? You'd want me to play Beth?" she looked at him, surprised.

Caleb nodded.

"But I'm not an actress,"

"But you're beautiful." He said, then leaned in, looking at her lips. She did the same, and eventually, they kissed.

They were interrupted by Tara's phone. She looked at it disgustedly.

"I have to take it, it's my coworker." She told him apologetically. He nodded in approval.

"Hello?" she said into the phone.

"Hey, It's Jack. They got a lead, we need your computer skills. Meet me in the lobby in five minutes. We have to go to San Diego."

"On it." She replied, then hung up. She then turned to Caleb. "I'm sorry, I have to go work." She dug through her purse where she found a notepad and pen that had somehow found its way in there, and wrote down her phone number. Once she did that, she handed the paper to him. "Again, I'm sorry."

Before she ran back into the hotel, he asked, "Wait, you never said what you do."

Tara turned around to look at him. "I'm a FBI Special Agent."

Tara saw Caleb raised his eyebrows just before she wheeled around to run to meet Jack.


	11. Chapter 11

**NOTE TO phyl7375: Could you explain what you mean by being careless? Do you mean because she completely ignored what was going on with Bobby while she was with Caleb? She's in love. Being in love sometimes makes you forget everything that's in your mind while your with the person. Or maybe I'm coming off as something different? Please let me know, if it's something I've missed, I want to make sure I catch it and change it before it's too late and I've written too much!**

?-?

Once Tara came in view, Jack whistled. "Wow, you dress up nicely." She glared at him. He paused when she came up to him, pulling out another piece of drywall. "The drywall really makes the outfit."

Tara glared at him some more. Jack could only laugh. "C'mon, let's go."

Once in the car, Tara asked, "So, what did they find?"

"Don't know. Andrew just said to come on down, and that they needed the FBI's computer skills."

"Hrm." She responded, looking around the dark night, streetlights almost making it like day. She smiled, thinking about the wonderful evening she had. Just then, her phone buzzed. She looked at it. It said;

"I had a wonderful time tonight. We need to do it again soon."

She texted back. "Me too. And yes, VERY soon! (like tomorrow)"

"haha." Was Caleb's response.

Soon enough, they were at the USPIS office. Being that the hotel was in between LA and San Diego, they could get to either city fairly quickly. They went in, and quickly found Andrew.

Once in hearing view, Jack asked, "What's up?"

They followed him to the forensics lab, talking while walking. "We found half a fingerprint. It is processing through our system now, but we'd like you guys to be on top of it, especially since you're FBI."

"It's not really our case, but OK. I'm more than happy to help out."

"No matter. Whatever we find goes to the San Diego and Los Angeles FBI anyways, since this is a multi-town incident, and we know they are all connected."

By this time, they were at the lab.

"Just got the results. It matches to a Brad Donehey. Some juvie charges of theft, but nothing since." Said a forensics specialist when they walked in.

"Do you know where he's at?" Tara asked, taking out her computer from her bag.

"That's where you come in." Andrew said.

"On it," she replied, already logging in and starting a few processes.

After a little bit, she had some information.

"He lives in Los Angeles, actually fairly close to Darcy's apartment building. He also got a speeding ticket from the San Clemente police department on Sunday." She looked at Jack, smiling.

"That's the day of the accident. And the location."

Tara nodded in response.

"I think we have our guy. I'll go call the San Diego FBI and let them know of the new findings. You two get some sleep. We've got a busy day tomorrow." Andrew replied, glad that they finally got a break on the case.

?-?

"Mom, I don't know!" Sue said, walking into the living room to clean up the breakfast dishes. Once back in the kitchen and in view, Carla replied,

"You talked to Jack last night. He didn't say anything?"

"No, he said he didn't know."

"They have to know something."

"Ugh," Sue sighed, and walked out the kitchen. What does it matter when Jack gets back? She cared more about Bobby's health and that he will get better. She grabbed her keys, purse Sunny's leash and Sunny, and walked out the door.

Because of the little riff, she got to work a half hour earlier. It was weird to sit there, with almost no one there. It was good though. She got through some paperwork she was dreading, so she was thankful for that.

"HELLO" Amy signed when she walked into the door and saw Sue a little bit later.

"YOU HERE EARLY"

Sue nodded. "ME MY MOM ARGUE."

Amy nodded in agreement. "SOMETIMES ME MY DAD ARGUE ME TOO."

D walked into the bullpen. "Where is everybody?" he said mostly to himself, since the only people in the room were Amy, Sue and Mya. Since no one responded-namely Maya- D waved at Sue and Amy.

"We have a new case you might want to help with."

"Oh, why?" Sue asked.

"A Deaf woman is involved. She is very traumatized, and won't talk, er, sign to anyone."

Sue relayed the information to Amy.

"US-TWO GO WHERE?" Amy signed to D.

"She is at the local police station. She won't leave, but she won't talk either."

Sue nodded. "We'll go. What exactly happened?"

"She witnessed her friend get shot. He was one of our snitches, though she didn't know that. I assume someone found out that he told on them to us. No one knows the reason yet, and the detective there thinks she knows something. He's been pushing her, but she won't say a word."

"What's her name?"

"G-R-A-C-E" D fingerspelled.

Sue nodded, grabbed her things, and she and Amy left to meet Grace.

?-?

Jack and Tara stayed at the USPIS building in San Diego, but Jack was going nuts. He wasn't used to waiting. He was used to doing. Being an agent in a different jurisdiction was horrible. Technically, he couldn't do anything. But this was his best friend. He had to do SOMETHING.

"Jack, sit down."

"I can't sit down."

"You HAVE to sit down. You are making me go nuts along with you!" Tara said in exasperation.

Jack sighed and sat next to her. Trying to think of anything but, he asked, "So how did your date go last night?"

Tara smiled. "Magical. Until you called me." She play frowned at him.

Jack laughed. "I'm glad one of us could have a good evening."

Just then, Andrew barged in. "When they got there, Donehey was gone."

"Great, he knows we are onto him." Jack replied, almost defeated, especially since he couldn't do much anyways.

"Maybe, maybe not. We don't know that yet. If what we've found out so far is true, he's done similar things to other reporters. Maybe he was just out torturing someone else. We have SOG on his house now."

"Stop being so positive!" Jack yelled. The two of them looked at him in surprise. Normally he was the positive one. In all the years of working together, Tara has rarely seen Jack like this, especially about a little everyday matter that they deal with all the time.

"You know what," he said, almost in tears. "I'm done. I'm going home." With that, he barged out of the room.

Tara quickly looked at Andrew, then ran to catch up with Jack.

"Jack, wait!" she yelled, trying to catch up with him. At that moment, she wished she was taller. He kept on walking fast, and she trying to catch up to him, bobbing in and out of people in the hallway. Just as she was about to catch up with him, he stopped and whirled around. Tara almost ran into him.

"I can't do this, Tare. Just go back, finish the case, and your boyfriend."

"What's wrong?" she asked concernedly, grabbing his arm as he turned to walk away.

Again, he looked like he was going to burst into tears. "I just can't do this."

"C'mon." she coaxed, pushing him into a quiet lunchroom, just down the hall. "Let's talk about what the real problem is."

Once sitting down, she looked at him, encouraging him to explain.

"Just when I think my life has been set on the course it should, it becomes a whirlwind. I can't take it. I just want it one way or the other. No switching back and forth."

"What is?" she asked. Jack stared at the vending machines in the corner of the room. No answer.

"This is about Sue, isn't it?"

Jack nodded. "And Bobby. I almost lost my best friend twice within a month. It's just too much."

"OK, I can't help about Bobby, but he's going to be OK. You don't need to worry about him. Have you told Sue how you feel, now that she's back? Believe me, I've seen how you two look at each other. The spark is still there." She smiled.

"Yeah, I have. She said that it wouldn't work. I have to prove that it would."

"That doesn't sound like Sue. Are you sure that that is what she said?"

Jack hung his head. "No, that's not exactly what she said. That's the way I took it."

"OK, what did she really say?" Tara asked.

Jack sat there, deep in thought of that night at Slappy's. "That I need to think of all the things that I would have to give up. And I have. And I still want to marry her. It wouldn't be giving up anything. It would be gaining a million things."

"Woah, did you tell her that?"

Jack nodded.

"OK, well that might be a bit too strong. How about if you just ask her out on a date? As friends? That would show that you are trying, but not trying to take things too seriously too fast. She needs to see that you are trying to follow her wishes, and not trying to push her into something she doesn't want, or something she thinks she doesn't want. Or what she doesn't know she wants-yet." She smiled at her friend.

Jack nodded in agreement. "Thanks. You've made me feel a bit better.

Tara smiled. "Maybe we need to 'marry' you a few more times for you two to understand what we all see in you two."

Jack laughed.

"Don't be afraid to tell her exactly how you feel. She needs to hear the real truth, not some sugar coated dribble. She needs honesty. That is one thing you both never got around to the first time. True relationship honesty. You guys were beating around the bush too many times to even get there."

"Thanks Tara. I think I will."

"And don't push it all on her at once!" she interjected.

Jack smiled. "I won't."

?-?

The police station was hectic. There was obviously yelling all around, but Sue and Amy were thankful that they couldn't hear it.

"Hi, We're looking for Grace?" she asked the front desk person.

"Sorry, who?" she yelled back, obviously not hearing.

"Grace, a witness to a shooting?" she yelled back.

The woman nodded, and they followed her back to Grace. The closer they were getting to Grace, more and more people had their hands on their ears. She was obviously the source of the noise.

Amy and Sue were led into a small room, where a woman was crouched down in the corner. When she looked in their direction, Sue signed, "HELLO MY NAME S-U-E-. THIS A-M-Y. US-TWO WANT HELP YOU."

The woman violently shook her head.

Amy went over and crouched down next to Grace. "US-TWO KNOW ABOUT YOUR FRIEND. US-TWO SORRY. SHOOTER THEY FIND NEED HELP. YOU HELP."

"ME HELP YOU, ME DEAD." Grace signed.

The two women looked at each other.

"THEY SAY SOMETHING TO YOU?" Sue asked.

Grace shook her head. "LETTER. LAST WEEK."

"YOU HELP US, US-TWO HELP YOU. NO ONE HURT YOU." Amy signed to her.

"PROMISE?" Grace asked.

"YES." Both of them signed.


	12. Chapter 12

**NOTE TO Guest: Interesting video with Tara. I guess sometime between 2014 and 2018 she got divorced. It's also interesting that she would get involved in something like that. (no offense if you are!) I know not all the actors are Christian, and that's OK and I understand that, but it's kinda hard imagining Tara Williams being involved in that kind of stuff. But hey, she's Tara Samuel, and I don't know her personally, so she's entitled to her own life!**

**NOTE TO phyl7375: I don't really know what you mean with Sue and Lucy, I was just relating to how Sue and Jack never got deeper than superficial, but yeah, now I understand regarding Tara. I know how it sounds, but honestly I couldn't find a public place where they could watch the movie (it would be very unromantic in a hotel lobby with noisy people and kids around), so they were kinda stuck there, sort-of out of character for Tara. If you could think of a more public, romantic place that they could go, let me know! I will definitely change it!**

?-?

Once Jack and Tara came back into the room where Andrew was, he was on the phone. They waited until he was done. Once he was done, Jack said,

"I'm sorry about that. There's been a lot going on."

Andrew nodded. "No problem. SOG's tailing him now, they believe unsuspected. He came home, then went back into his car with a bag about 10 minutes later. Once he stops, they are going to arrest him. They will call me when they do. All we have to do is wait."

"Wait, that's all we do, wait." Jack mumbled, plopping down on one of the chairs.

"Why don't you go see how Bobby is? I'm sure he'd love to see you." Andrew suggested.

"Good idea, let's go." Tara said, pulling Jack's arm out the door.

?-?

Amy and Sue coaxed Grace into a interrogation room. A detective came in with them, and Sue was interpreting for him.

"We were walking down the street, then all of a sudden, Adam was on the ground. I didn't know what happened, until I saw blood. When the ambulance came, I wanted to go, but they pushed me away." Sue interpreted from Grace's story.

"Did you see the person who shot Adam?" The detective asked."

Sue interpreted what he asked, and Grace shook her head.

"Do you know of any reason why someone would want to shoot him?"

Again, she shook her head.

"Great, no leads, and no witnesses." He said to himself.

"LETTER WHAT" Sue asked. Grace shook her head. Sue knew it was important, but if she didn't want to talk about it right now, that was OK, but she would have to eventually.

?-?

"Hey, buddy." Jack sad as the pair walked in to Bobby's room.

Bobby's eyes lit up. "Hi mate! How's it going?"

"Good." Not wanting to bother him with details, he left it at that. "Do you know when you'll get out of here?"

"They said I can leave tomorrow, but I can't fly back home for a month. They want to make sure I won't get dizzy up there because of the concussion, and because of this broken leg."

"I offered him to stay with me, once I get a new apartment. They are planning on relocating everyone by the end of the week." Darcy, who was at Bobby's bedside, interjected.

Jack smiled. "Well, it looks like you'll have a nice, sunny vacation in California for a while."

Tara's phone buzzed. She looked at it with a big, dreamy smile.

Bobby nodded at Tara. "What's up with her?"

Jack laughed. "Don't ask."

"That bad, eh?"

"Worse."

The two men laughed, but Darcy didn't find it funny.

"I think it's nice that Tara's in love."

Both men stared at her. "In love?" they said in unison.

"Yeah, look at her. She has absolutely no idea what we are talking about, does she?"

The men looked at Tara, who now was sitting down in a chair, furiously typing on her phone. They both shook their heads in realization and disbelief.

Bobby looked at Jack. "You should go home. To Sue."

Jack waved his hand at him. "Na, I wanna make sure you're better."

"Darcy'll stay with me. You go home. Besides, I'm sure you're itching to get back to work. I know you have been going crazy not being able to solve this case."

""How did you-"

"I know you. Just go home."

Jack sighed in defeat. "Alright, we will."

?-?

"Is this someone I should be jealous of?" Caleb asked as Jack and Tara walked into the hotel that afternoon after they visited Bobby for a while. Tara laughed.

"No, this is Jack, my coworker. We just came back from the hospital."

"Yes, how is your friend?" Caleb asked.

"Better. He has to stay here for a while, but I think he'll manage." Tara gave a knowing look at Jack. She then turned to Caleb.

"Does that mean you are going home? I never asked where you live."

"Yes we are, and Washington D.C." she replied, smiling.

"D.C.?! Really? That's great! We can see each other fairly often!" he smiled in excitement like a little boy. Jack could barely hold back his laughter. Was he like his with Sue? He hoped not.

Tara walked over to Caleb and whispered, "This is our last night here. Why don't we go out to eat somewhere tonight?" she smiled.

In a normal voice, Caleb replied, "Sure, how about we all go? I would love to know how real FBI agents work. You know, I've seen TV, but is it the same?" Jack started walking towards the elevator, and Caleb followed asking questions, leaving Tara behind.

"Hrumph." She said to herself, putting her hands on her hips. "I guess I will have to look extra pretty to get him to notice me tonight."


	13. Chapter 13

**NOTE TO phyl7375: Lol! No, I didn't put any intentional trivia, but I'm glad you caught something! Sometimes I write, and I find trivia that unconsciously put in there myself. It's always fun finding that. And I know it's my story, but I know I don't write as descriptively as I would like, so I always want to make sure I'm understood, so if you EVER find something that doesn't make sense, just let me know. I may think something in my head, but it doesn't make sense in someone else's (believe me, I've seen that on here with other FanFics.) I just want to make sure I'm understood, and I try so hard to keep in line with the characters. **

**TRIVIA: There is something in this chapter that relates to the real Sue Thomas. There is an easy, general answer, and a harder, more direct answer. If you get the easy answer right, you get one chapter. If you get it 100% correct, you get THE REST OF THE STORY! (2 chapters!)**

phyl7375

?-?

Sue and Amy walked back into the bullpen.

"How'd it go?" D asked once Sue got into view.

"OK, they were hoping for more information from her, but she didn't see anything. She also mentioned a letter, but she didn't want to explain it."

Amy waved at Sue. "A-D-A-M DEAF?"

"DON'T KNOW. ME ASK HIM." Sue replied. "Amy wants to know if Adam was Deaf."

"He was hard of hearing." D replied, and Sue interpreted.

"ME ASK IF MY FRIENDS KNOW SOMETHING. MAYBE THEY KNOW HIM." Amy signed before sitting down at her desk and got on her videophone.

D frowned. "What's going on? I didn't catch all of that."

"She's asking her friends if they know anything." Mya said casually as she walked past them.

"How did you…" D asked after her. Too late, she was out the door and gone.

"What?" Sue asked.

"Mya knew exactly what Amy signed." He replied.

Sue frowned as well. "Either she knows ASL and didn't tell us, or she picks up on it really well."

D nodded. "I would assume the former to be true. I don't picture her to be such a quick learner of any language."

Sue nodded. "So about the case, what do we do now?"

"Nothing. We just have to wait to see what Metro PD picks up. If they need us, we will be called."

Sue sighed. "OK."

?-?

Jack was in his hotel room getting ready when his phone rang. "Hudson."

"Hi Jack, it's Andrew." The caller on the other line said.

"Andrew, Hi!"

"So Donehey has been caught, in the act, actually. He was going to blow up another reporters' apartment as well."

Jack whistled in response.

"Once we confirm that all the cases are connected, I will let you know."

"Thank you so much, Andrew. We are going home tomorrow morning, so this is such a big relief."

"No problem. I'm glad Bobby came to me with those letters."

"Me too."

?-?

Later that evening, everyone got as dressed up as they could with their limited wardrobe and went out to eat at a restaurant on the beach. Tara was in a sundress she bought in the gift shop, and Jack had dark jeans and a nice shirt on.

When Caleb saw Tara get out of the car at the restaurant, he whistled.

"You look beautiful." He almost whispered when she got close.

"You don't look too bad yourself." She smiled, eyeing him in his suit.

Jack put his hands in his pockets, looked at the concrete, and rocked back and forth. This was a bit awkward for him. No one likes being a third wheel.

"Alright, let's go." Caleb said, putting her arm in his, and walking towards the entrance. Jack tailed behind.

All throughout dinner, Jack felt out of place. He wished he had Sue with him. Instead of following along with their conversation, he got out a notebook that he had in his pocket, and started writing down ideas. He had talked to a few people already, but he wanted to make this _perfect_. Every detail thought of. He might not be Deaf, but he was going to try his hardest to think like he was. Two weekends ago, he even wore sound-cancelling headphones around his apartment all day to try to see how it felt. It definitely wasn't helpful when he burnt his lunch in the oven because he couldn't hear the timer go off. That memory sparked an idea, so he wrote it down.

"Hasn't it Jack?" Tara asked.

"Jack?"

"Huh?" he said as he looked up from the notebook.

"I was saying that we've been working together for over 20 years." Tara said.

"Uh, yeah, I think." He said, then looked back down.

"Is everything OK?" she asked.

"Yeah, why?" he frowned at her.

"You are so focused on that notebook." She leaned over to see what he was writing. Before she could read anything, he covered it with his hands. She looked at him, confused.

"I'm just working on something." He replied.

Tara smiled. "It's for Sue, isn't it?"

Jack didn't answer, but the shifting of his eyes gave it away.

Her smile got bigger. "You're thinking of ideas for a birthday gift, right? It is in about 6 months, right? In the spring? You need something special for all the time you've missed."

"Birthday, birthday," he murmured. "Yes!" he exclaimed, then furiously wrote something down in the notebook.

Tara just laughed and shook her head.

All throughout the rest of the dinner, Jack was furiously writing, while the two lovebirds had their own conversation. They talked about everything under the sun, yet all Tara could think was how she was going to miss him. She'd only known him for a few days, yet it felt like a lifetime. And next weekend when they'd planned on meeting again felt like 10 lifetimes from this moment. Despite that, she couldn't wait.

?-?

That night, Sue couldn't sleep. She knew there was something deep about that letter that Grace was talking about, but she didn't know how to get her to talk about it. If she didn't it could mean life or death for her, and possibly other people, depending on what it said. She HAD to go visit Grace again, alone, so she would feel the most comfortable.

"And that's what I'll do." She said to herself.


	14. Chapter 14

As it happened, Jack and Tara's plane was the same one Caleb was on. Jack offered to let the two sit together, and he would sit in Caleb's seat a few seats behind their original ones. That gave him a few more hours to work on his project. Hopefully by the time the plane landed, he would have a pretty good idea of what exactly he was doing. Now he just needed the time…

Next to Jack, there was a young boy, about 12. He looked at Jack's notebook.

"YOU DEAF YOU?" he signed after seeing some of the things written down.

Jacked looked at the boy. "NO, MY FRIEND."

The boy nodded. "MY NAME C-H-R-I-S. ME GO TO MY DAD HOUSE IN VA."

Jack smiled. "YOU EXCITED YOU?"

Chris nodded and smiled. "ME DON'T SEE HIM OFTEN. GOOD TO SEE HIM."

Jack nodded. "ME DON'T SEE MY FAMILY ME TOO. THEY LIVE IN WI. ME LIVE IN DC."

All throughout the trip, Jack and Chris carried on a conversation. A few of the passengers were a bit confused and curious as to what was going on, but for the two of them, it was helpful in their own ways. For Chris, it helped him in his loneliness of traveling thousands of miles with people he didn't know, and people who didn't speak his language, and for Jack, it helped remind him that he was going to see Sue very soon.

?-?

That morning, Sue went to see Grace again, who was still at the police station. Once in the room where she was, and got her attention, she waved hello.

Grace looked a bit confused why Sue was back.

"ME WANT TO SEE HOW YOU." Sue replied to the confused look.

"OK." Grace replied, looking back down at the book she was reading at the table in the room.

Sue sat down across from Grace. She looked up from her book at the movement.

"WHAT ABOUT LETTER?"

Grace jerked her head down back at her book, disregarding the question.

Sue tapped the table to get her attention. Grace looked up, hurt in her eyes. Sue gave her a comforting look back.

Finally, Grace signed, "IF ME TELL YOU, YOU HURT."

"NO." Sue determinedly signed. "YOU DON'T TELL ME, YOU HURT."

They both determinedly stared at each other.

"INSIDE LETTER WHAT?" Sue finally asked.

After a few moments, Grace finally moved from her staring position, and reached inside her pants pocket, pulling out a folded piece of paper and handed it to Sue.

Sue reached over to take it, unfolded it, and read the typewritten note.

It said;

No money, you're dead.

Tell anyone, and your double dead.

That was it.

"THIS FOR YOU?" Sue asked, unsure exactly what it meant.

"THIS IN MAIL BOX. NO NAME."

Sue frowned at it. It didn't really make sense.

"ME SAVE THIS OK?" Sue asked. Grace shrugged. Her secret was out, no use hiding it anymore.

Sue sadly smiled at her as she got up. Once out of the room, she went to find the detective on the case. Once she found him, she said; "Grace gave me this. She said this was in her mailbox last week. She was terrified when she received it, and I think this is why she's so afraid to tell us anything. Sorry, some of my fingerprints are on it, I didn't have anything to hold it in."

The detective grabbed a handkerchief and read the note. First he frowned, then a look of recognition passed over his face. He ran over to his desk, and rustled some papers. He then came back over to Sue.

"Thank you. I think you may have just broken the case."

Sue smiled in response. She knew she was going to get a good night's sleep tonight.


	15. Chapter 15

**NOTE: As I do at the end of every episode, I proofread the story and made the necessary edits. I've made some minor clarification changes, and also changed the location of Tara and Caleb watching the movie. I think I almost like it better this way!**

?-?

Thursday morning, Jack and Tara returned to work. Jack settled into his desk and sighed. It was so good to be home.

"Jack!" Sue exclaimed when she saw him, eyes closed. He opened them and looked at her.

"How's Bobby?" she asked after he walked over to her desk and petted Sunny.

"Better. He got out of the hospital early this morning, and is staying with Darcy."

Sue raised her eyebrows. "Darcy? I thought they weren't speaking soon after she left."

Jack shrugged. "Don't know, didn't ask. I'm just glad he has someone there to help him. He can't fly home for at least a month."

Sue winced. "That will be hard."

"I don't know, it's a lot better than the cold here, right?" he smiled.

"So what exactly happened?" she asked, sitting down at her desk. Jack pulled up a chair near her.

"Long story. I'll sign the words I know so it'll be easier for you to understand."

Sue nodded.

"Bobby went to visit Darcy, but when he got there, he found out someone had been threatening her with letters. Bobby decided to go down to San Diego to give the letters to a friend of his, Andrew," he paused to fingerspell Andrew's name. "He works at United States Postal Inspection Service. He called me late last night with the details. Turns out, Donehey confessed to everything." Jack fingerspelled Donehey for her. "On Bobby's way back to LA, Donehey ran Bobby off the road, resulting in the accident. Then, when we came, he went and stole the letters from the USPIS forensics locker. Somehow, he shut of all the cameras. They are still researching that. They suspect there's someone he knows that works there that helped him, but they haven't found anyone yet." He paused for a few seconds to let it all soak in.

"When a whole group of agents, including me and Tara, went to Darcy's apartment for the rest of the letters, he tried to blow up her apartment. We were all stuck up there for a while. Finally, later that evening, they got a partial fingerprint on the other letters, and was able to identify him, and found him trying to blow up another reporter's apartment. Darcy wasn't the first reporter that he harassed, so I don't think he's ever getting out." Jack paused, looking around at the whole team-except for Bobby-who was standing around Sue and Jack, listening to his story. "Well, that was my week, how about you?" he laughed.

"Wow, that's a lot. I'm glad I was here, where it was a lot quieter. All that happened here was some minor cases, and me and Amy helped a Deaf woman that witnessed her friend being shot."

Tara waved for Sue's attention. "And I met this wonderful guy!"

"Now I wish I was there!" everyone laughed.

Just then, D's phone rang. He went to answer it.

"Will we get to meet him?" Sarah asked Tara.

Tara nodded. "He lives in Virginia. He's a filmmaker, and he asked me to star in a movie!"

All the girls squealed. The guys all rolled their eyes and went to their own desks.

"Listen up!" D said once he got off the phone. "The drive by shooting case is closed. Adam was killed by a drug dealer friend that he used to work for before helping us. Thanks to Sue, they found out that Adam was trying to get back into drugs, owed a lot to his friend, and they dropped a threat for Adam in Grace's mailbox, where they thought he lived, since he was always by Grace's house. Thanks to Amy and her friend, Metro PD was able to track down some of his friends, and that helped them find the killer."

Everyone nodded. Sue translated for Amy. She smiled at D. glad that she could help.

Once D sat back down, Jack waved for Sue's attention.

"Seems like all the cases are closed right now. How about we go out and celebrate?" Jack asked, praying she would take it well. He wanted to take it slow, just like she wanted.

She smiled. "Sure. Where to?"

Jack looked up, leaning against the back of his desk chair. "Uh, I was thinking about Slappy's."

Sue gave him a disgusted face.

"Just kidding! There's this new Italian place I saw on my way here today. How about there?"

Sue nodded. "I will just go home and change. Meet you there?"

"No, I'll pick you up. Say, 7:00?"

"Ooh, such a gentleman." She smiled.

All of a sudden, Sunny decided to get up and walk towards Myles' desk. He glared at her, but went back to work. She then laid her head on his knee. Myles quickly looked around. No one was looking. He slowly and quietly laid his hand on her head, and petted it. Before anyone could see, he jerked back his hand, and Sunny went back to her owner.

"Hey, don't you still need a car?" Sue asked Jack.

"Na, it's working fine now."

Sue looked at him suspiciously. "Is there a reason why you want to keep an almost 20 year old car?"

"Because it reminds him of you." Tara said to Sue's back as she passed. Jack's face turned red.

"What? What did I miss?" Sue looked around.

Sarah waved for Sue's attention. "T-A-R-A SAY HIS CAR HE THINK OF YOU."

Sue too, blushed, looked at the ground, then turned to Jack.

"It's the same car I had while you were here. There's a lot of memories in that car.

"Well, let's make some new memories in a new car. We will go car shopping together on Saturday, OK?"

Jack smiled. "OK." He signed.

?-? **Listen to: Dreaming by Gracie Schram**

Just as Tara was closing up her computer for the day, her phone rang.

"Hi." She smiled as she answered it.

"Hey, beautiful." The caller replied.

Tara blushed a bit and smiled.

"I was wondering if you'd like to have a Skype date tonight. I've got some Chicken Marsala in the oven, and it'll be ready in 45 minutes." Caleb asked.

"Sure!" She replied excitedly, quickly jumping up, grabbing her stuff, and walking out the door.

As she was driving home, all she could think about was how it felt like she was dreaming this whole week. Sure, it was horrible what happened to Bobby, but she knew she found the love of her life, and she thanked God every second of that ride home for that.

?-?

A few hours later, Jack was walking up the path to Sue and Carla's house.

Soon after he rang the doorbell, Carla answered the door.

"Hi Jack! Sue'll be down in a minute. How are you this evening?"

"Good. You?"

"Great. It's so nice to see you two going out."

Embarrassed, he looked at the floor. Thankfully, he was saved from more questions because Sue was ready.

"Hi." She almost whispered.

"Hi." He smiled.

They stared at each other for a few seconds.

"Ready?" he asked. Sue nodded in response.

They both walked out the door, oblivious to what Carla was saying after them. They were going to enjoy a quiet dinner, alone.

"Am I dreaming?" they both thought at the same time. Never did either of them think that any of this was even possible anymore. Yet here they are. Going on an almost-date. Jack was going to tell her the honest truth. Not too strong, but not too fluffy either. He prayed she was going to be receptive of it. He would take it slow like she wanted, yet show her how strongly he felt.

Could things get any better than this?

THE END

**Thanks for reading! New story up on Sunday (unless someone guesses the trivia from 3 chapters ago correctly! Then up to 2 new chapters of the new episode will be up!) !**


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